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Reaction Paper 5: The global media marketplace

The rise of a global marketplace of media production has been the result of many factors. It has been shaped by processes of liberalization and deregulation of the sector, internationally, and by the development of new technologies such as the satellite and the cable technologies. Throughout this chapter, the authors address the way media and technology have converged, the process of “vertical integration” that has happened in the media industry, and finally the way media power is concentrated in the hands of a few number of people, which is threatening to global democracy. What I will focus on, while reacting at the fourth chapter of the book, is the idea of convergence, which has happened with media and technologies. Globalisation has been correlated with convergence, as before it, most media corporations were focusing on specific areas, or fields of work. The textbook gives examples such as: Disney being only focused on cartoons and theme-parked industry; and Viacom being only c
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Reaction Paper 4: Creating a global communication infrastructure

The current state of global media infrastructure is the result of policies of liberalization and privatization, of the development of new digital technologies and of the globalization of telecommunications. With the increasing presence of regional and global satellite networks, the traditional approach to communication through a state-centric perspective has become outdated. The third chapter of the textbook aims to provide a review of the current (at the time when the textbook was written) state of the world satellite industry; as well as discussing the way TNCs (Transnational Corporations) were the first beneficiaries of  liberal policies. In this summary, I will focus on the   key players of the global satellite industry, as described in the textbook.   The satellite industry has been strongly impacted by the rise of digital technology. When compared to old technologies (and more specifically to 1960s spacecraft), modern satellites have had a capacity increase of ‘500-fold.
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Reaction Paper 3: Approaches to theorizing International Communication II

The second theory I chose to focus on, which is part of the second chapter of the textbook, is the ‘free flow of information’. This concept has emerged post WW2, as a reflection of the Western capitalist ideology. This ideology perceived international communication as a mean of promotion for democratic ideals, free market and freedom of expression. On the contrary, the Marxist ‘side’ commonly promoted state regulated communication, and was said to use communication for propaganda. The concept of ‘free flow of information’ means that the media are part of a liberal, free market economy, and can be sold privately from any owner to any other one. Because of the Western domination over world’s media resources and related capital, the West had also the most to gain from the international implementation of this ideology, and from the commodification of international communication. The ‘free flow of information’ has both a political and an economic dimensions. On one hand, the politica
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Reaction Paper 8: International communication in the Internet age

Chapter 7 of the textbook focuses on what was named the ‘Internet age’ by the Business Week, in 1999. What is meant by this terminology is an age when information treatment has become so much faster and less expensive, thanks to the development of a major new communication tool: Internet. The idea, or concept, I will focus on throughout this reflection is the “free flow of commerce”. Not only the rise of Internet has allowed an unprecedented increase in the volume and diversity of information exchanged; but it also gave birth to a new form of commercial transactions: the e-commerce. The textbook points out the way trade on Internet has outpaced all expectations and was representing $1.4 trillion in 2003. The reason why e-corporations have been so quick to rise is that Internet has made transactions considerably cheaper and faster. It reduced transaction costs, and eliminated issues of geographical positioning, while allowing a more direct form of online marketing. Moreover, as
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Reaction Paper 7: Contraflow in Global Media

Chapter 6 of the textbook addresses ‘contraflow in global media’, or in other words the non-Western mass production and export of communication content (e.g. Brazilian telenovelas; Indian film industry…). The concept I will focus on here is the one of ‘cultures of diaspora’. It is defined in the textbooks as the results of the physical displacement of communities, which carry with them their own cultures and traditions. This mass movement of communities has been conceptualize by Appadurai under the name “ethnoscape”. The texbook presents some examples, such as populations of “South Asians in Britain, North Africans in France, Turks in Germany, and Latin American in the United States”(p.207). Indeed, it is becoming more and more complicated to associate a single culture to a geographical area. Waves of immigration and the globalization of the workplace through the rise of multinationals companies, have led to multiculturalism and multilingualism becoming a new norm. Because of this
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Reaction Paper n.6 - Communication and Cultural Globalization

The 5th chapter of the book focuses on the relationship between Communication and cultural globalization. The notion I will address here is the one of cultural diversity, and more specifically the way in which cultural globalization might threaten it. Cultural diversity is defined in the book as: “ a 'manifestation of the creativity of the human spirit', and is required 'by principles of equity, human rights and self-determination'; it is needed to 'oppose political and economic dependence and oppression' for 'sustainability' and it is 'aesthetically pleasing to have an array of different cultures', it 'stimulates the mind' and can provide a 'reserve of knowledge and experience' about good and useful ways of organizing society ” (UNESCO), p.180. Cultural globalization takes the form of an increasing production and consumption of the same cultural products all around the world. Whether we are talking about music, movies or books,
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Reaction Paper 2: Approaches to theorizing International Communication

The second chapter of the book is complementary to the first one, in the sense that they both tend to contextualize the study of global communication, through presenting the key references to know. The second one aims on one hand to explain the key theories approaching international communication, and on the other hand, to assess their validity and usefulness in understanding the subject. From the different approaches presented throughout the chapter, the one I was the most interested in was the part on ‘Hegemony’, and this is the one I will talk about here. The conception of hegemony by Antonio Gramsci is presented in the reading as a strong influence in the study of ideology (which concerns both critical theorists and cultural critics). Gramsci addresses the way dominant social groups or classes exercise control over the society by “build[ing] a consent by ideological control of cultural production and distribution”. Ideological power is therefore exercised through a control over so
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